Friday, August 27, 2010

It's been a long few weeks. Actually, since the month is almost over, it's been a long August. Ian's work hours... filling my time with cleaning and prepping for Cooper's Pirate Party... work drama... making house-related decisions. Top it all off with heat and humidity. Meh. Not impressed with the month of August.

Ian's work hours. They seem to be easing slightly. A couple of days ago he got off around 6:30pm. That's really good! All I can say is I am thrilled he isn't working weekends.

Cleaning and Pirate Party Prep. I have stopped cleaning so much. Only went through one vacuum. The house is a little more tidy than normal. Today I need to go home and clean but it's nothing major. As far as the Pirate Party Prep. I am done! I shipped everything down to my sister except some ribbon and envelopes I can carry with me. It is going to be a great party I think...

Work Drama. The issue was really when I thought things were great. I got back the position that I wanted... everyone seemed happy... I was happy. But then it turned out everything wasn't okay. I had one of the worst week's I've ever had here. I kept thinking about the job I used to have and how much I loved it. Then on Monday I got the greatest news. News I had been waiting to hear since last summer. All I can say is, the cloud has lifted. I am positive the tides will turn and everything will be good again.

House-related Decisions. I know that from the outside it would seem that making these decisions is fun and easy. It is fun. Some are easy. Most are pretty hard though. When you tie in the fact that you are working with a budget, some the options cannot easily be changed, and that you have to compromise with your husband who thinks that if a hallway is tile that means the whole first floor will seem like tile....................................... It's hard. =] I'm looking forward to knowing that we don't have any more decisions to make. The house just needs to be built!

But August is almost over! Today is Friday. I have a half day due to summer hours (my last one!). I am going to head home and clean house. Wait for Ian to get off work. Tomorrow we are going to the dirt to meet up with our future neighbor Alicia. Then down to the Losani design center to look at all of our choices. I think our strategy is going to be to chip away at all of the decisions we have to make... just knowing how many options there are is a bit overwhelming. Ian and I fly out next Friday to Virginia. Gonna get our pirate on! Then we get to wait until the end of the month for our final design appointment.

I am so excited to see my nephews next weekend!!!! Max is out of the EHN I'M A NEWBORN stage and into the gooey baby stage. Lots of drool. Maybe some smiles thrown in. And then there's Captain Cooper. He is turning 2. 2 I say!!! Going potty and everything. Damn kid needs to slow down. Stop growing up so fast! But I can't wait to go! G-Ma, Aunt B and Uncle Onion are coming!

The Bang Lowdown: I am still on the fence. It's odd. But it hasn't bothered me much. I just can't decide if they look good. It is nice to do my hair the lazy way - put Curl Keeper in when it's wet, dry my bangs and leave the house.

Wednesday, August 25, 2010

It was a perfect storm. Ian was sick... then he had some crazy work hours including the weekends... and then when he did get the weekend off, his hair stylist was on vacation. Thus, the mane grew. [Editor's Note: These photos were taken against the subject's will, hence the disgruntled nature of them.]

Tuesday, August 24, 2010

Yesterday, Ian and I raced down to Stoney Creek to our design center appointment. It was the structural and exterior decisions that we had to make. The designer was very helpful in guiding us where to use our dollars... She only gave us the salesman pitch on one item and that was worth $670 (damn you TV niche!!). It was nice to see some items automatically included. Example: if you buy granite for the kitchen, the price of the under-mounted sink is already included.

The one thing that really hit home with me is just how big the house is going to be. I really can't picture it... But I asked the designer to tell us how big the vanity is in the Master Bath. When she said 6.5 feet... I almost fell out of my chair. I'm not that great with numbers... or visualizing it... On the layout, I had guessed maybe 3.5, maybe 4ft. Coming from living in an apartment... that's HUGE.

Also, if you tell me something in inches... it's almost in one ear and out the other. We reconfigured our master bath to have a 60"x32" glass shower. It doesn't mean much to me. But they referred us to a new model home that just opened down the street from the design center. It had a newly built shower, hence the duct tape. I stood in it and it's so big!

Overall, I'm really excited about the house again. We got to see just how nice it's going to be. I think it's a true reflection of the hard work Ian and I put in to be able to afford a place like this. It helps ease the frustration that I've shouldered to move countries. I can't wait for our next appointment in September to pick the fun stuff like tile and granite colors! Here is the latest picture of our dirt. Still dirty.

I drive 45+ minutes each way to work every day. This morning I worked my butt off to prepare for the afternoon... and then I was in meetings the rest of the day. After basically frying my brain over work, I want to release some of the frustration/energy/anger/whatever you want to call it. I know you can see me. I don't care. If I want to groove to some pop hip hop, I'm going to just that. If it looks like I'm dancing around a bit... it's probably because I'm choreographing in my head. If I want to sing the lyrics to some emo pop, like this:

...I'm going to do just that! Yeah, it looks a little weird... but the chances of us seeing each other again are pretty slim. I'm paying attention... I'm keeping up with the speed of traffic... Both of my hands are on the steering wheel (most of the time...) - in short, I'm driving in a straight line at 70mph (convert to kph yourself!) - there's no harm in me getting a little groove on. (This is even before the news that made my day? month? year?????? =])

Friday, August 20, 2010

Thursday, August 19, 2010

I feel so relieved. The FBI finally got back to me with my criminal record - ALL CLEAR. It was just the final piece I needed. Now it is 100% out of my hands. All I have to do is sit back and wait. I also submitted my temporary work permit renewal today. My life is ruled by paperwork since moving to Canada. All I have left to do is wait for permanent residency to come through, get a permanent SIN, a permanent Health Card, and then I'm done! Any other paperwork I may have to do will be normal stuff... mortgage paperwork, etc.

This whole thing has been like a cloud hanging over my head... I'm fine with playing the waiting game... but not when it has an effect over something else. This issue combined with Ian's long hours, work drama, and general summer-related malaise has taken it's toll. We need a vacation! At least a trip down to my 2 adorable nephews will help.

Thursday, August 5, 2010

Arrr Matey!~ Cooper be turnin' 2! So I decided in my other life I would be a party planner. I had a lot of fun planning my sister's birthday party. I am having even more fun planning Cooper's 2nd Birthday. Let me first say... I totally agree with the whole "it's a waste to spend a lot on birthday parties..." etc. But for me... you just pick a color scheme and spend a little on the details. It goes a long way. In the end, it's about having fun... (and getting good pictures from it!)

That being said, I spent about $12 to create the following signs for Coop's birthday. That's about $2.40 per sign. I think it's worth it! I started with 4 cheap canvases - the 5th came later...

Kids will be walking the plank!

...and getting some grub! (Not shown: Drink Up Me Hearties, Yo Ho!)

We are going to cover Cooper's kiddie pool in burlap and fill it with sand. There be treasure in that there sand!!

I'm also making a general Cooper is 2 sign... Just can't figure out what to call him. My sister suggested Captain Cooper the Rollin' Crab Whacka (randomly generated pirate name!). It's a little long for my tastes... Anyway, planning this has made me miss Disneyland like you wouldn't believe. Love this song so much!!